Looks like you guys have a great hunt!

23 more deer came in tonight. 6 more bucks. Total of 54 deer in 3 hunts with all day tomorrow left.

Any updates on the hunt?

last count if correct is 74 deer and 3 piggy pigs.

been giving ya'll my report on this for years. i tried to tol' ya'll. they feed you well too! since 2006, i have missed one hunt and that was last year's due to a death in the family. Pete told me to go ahead and go but it was his mama that passed. figured i'd best do the right thing.

it's fantastic!!! the guides, landowners, school faculty and volunteers are like family. beautiful country up there too. nice to not see city lights but january hunting brings lots of folks to the county. we always see a bunch of louisiana and florida plates.

when GrandSlam gets home, he can give the report on the retrieve from the creek. hear tell, it was brrrr! k-k-k-kold!!

That would explain the carnage...

Last count was 79 total deer for the 2.5 days of hunting. I am guessing 1/3 of the deer were bucks. Had a great time and met some great families and people. Thats what makes the event special all the people who participate. Already looking forward to next year. As Velvet says, many of the hunters are repeat visitors and come every year. We only book 30-35 hunts, so if you want to get a slot from the handful who dont rebook you better sign up now. Just for those who are interested in whats typical for bucks killed. I would say you have a good chance at having an opportunity to shoot a 115-135” deer. We have killed deer 140+ as well. Lots of the hunters dont get to hunt much or hunt in areas with small populations of deer so they dont get to see many all year long. So its easy to shoot the first racked buck they see. Having patience and holding off can payoff in Bullock County. I have always said that the term “trophy” means something different to everyone. And helping with the school hunts I would say it confirms that thought. I have seen hunters more excited and happy with a small basket rack 1.5yr old than hunters who just killed a 200” buck. That excitement and thrill makes the event incredibly special. As a guide, I was excited to see two of the biggest bucks killed this year were taken from my own leases. We will keep working to make them better and better each year.

Already looking forward to next year.

Skeeterpop, I sent you a PM. How does a fella go about signing up?

Two more deer were found this am once the sun came up and helped in the search. So final total was 81 deer, 31 hunters in 2.5 days.

UncleHuck, I will pm you the contact info. 👍🏻

I would say that is a great hunt.

Congrats to all the hunters.

Thank you.

A REAL shout out to SkeeterPop and all the guys in & around Union Springs for the unreal job they do. The first afternoon hunt this year pair Velvet Tines & I up with SkeeterPop and his brother. I was to sit in one of the prettiest hardwood bottom I've ever seen. Things stayed interesting with squirrels & one of the quietest bobcats on the planet.
A little after 4:00 I spotted a doe feeding along a hillside a little over 100 yards out in front of the ladder stand I was in. After 10 minutes or so she turned and ran back over the ridge she came from. Shortly another (or the same) doe came running from the same direction. She would run 40 to 50 yards and blow,another 40 to 50 yards and blow again. We have all heard it before and KNOW we've been busted. It kinda made me want to call it a day,as loud as she was blowing.
I soon saw a buck hot on her trail,but he didn't seem to be closing the distance. It took me a while to figure it out, but I believe she was blowing at the buck! I managed to bleat & that seemed to slow him down, so with nothing to lose, I bleated again. I found a good opening thru some limbs and squeezed the 25.06 off. The buck staggered a bit and took off in the doe's direction. After about 25 minutes I lowered my rifle out of the ladder stand and found where the buck had been standing. A open hardwood bottom, and a nice blood trail made for a easy tracking job of about 85 yards.
The photo above shows how he ended up in the creek. And while I was walking along the blood trail, the doe was standing a good distance on the other side of the creek blowing non stop.
With the buck in the creek, I had time to lean against a huge tree and take it all in, while giving thanks to The Man Upstairs for allowing these events to unfold before me. That is...until the flowing creek water moved the deer about five feet down stream. Off came the boots,socks,pants, insulated bottoms, and drawers !!! Yep, it was either me get him or me spend till dark following him down the creek. With the pull-up rope I borrowed form SkeeterPop in hand, I quickly found the water was a little over knee deep and pretty darned cold. In near lightning speed I tied the rope to his rack and made my way back up the creek bank. I think I could sing notes that would shock the boys in the Mormon Tabernacle Boys Choir. Back across the creek the bucks girlfriend was still blowing. I had another minute or two to lean against another huge tree and take it all in again...AFTER I got dressed!
Thanks again to all the Union Springs folks, who seem more like family (that you like being around) every year.

Thanks for the great story!